California RV Parks See Strong Winter Season

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RVBusiness
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November 9, 2010 @ 11:33 am
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Several California RV parks and resorts that cater to snowbirds are reporting stronger advance bookings for the upcoming winter season than last year at this time, according to an informal survey of private park operators.

“Business is looking up,” Debbie Sipe, executive director of the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CalARVC) said in a news release. “Several of our affiliated parks in Southern California are reporting very strong bookings for the upcoming winter season.”

Of course, not every park is seeing an upswing in business. Campland on the Bay in San Diego and Rancho Los Coches RV Park in Lakeside both anticipate slight declines in their winter business compared to last year. But their experiences appear to be more the exception than the rule. Here’s what other park operators are seeing:

Happy Traveler RV Park in Palm Springs: “We’ve been booked (for the upcoming winter season) since June,” said park owner Diane Marantz. She said the park has 125 to 130 sites and that the same people come back year after year.

Fountain of Youth Spa in Niland: “Our rental units are booking up nicely,” said Jolene Wade, the park’s managing director, adding that the park’s winter RV site rental business is “on par or a little stronger than last year.”

Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina in Newport Beach: Andrew Theodorou, the park’s general manager, says he anticipates his winter bookings to be “flat to a slight increase over last year.”

Rancho Los Coches RV Park in Lakeside: This park’s winter business is expected to be down slightly from last year’s figures, according to park operator Bill Milligan.

Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio: “It’s unbelievable how we’re doing right now,” park owner Paula Turner said of the 120-site park. “We’re already at 93 (advance reservations) for Jan. 15 and 108 for Feb. 15.” Turner added that she has seen the pace of reservations accelerate at her park even though she has raised her rates. She attributes the increase to new snowbirds who have never come to her park before as well as her park’s dog friendly atmosphere. “We are very dog friendly,” she said. “I would say about 50% of our guests have dogs.”

Sunland RV Resorts, which owns and operates RV resorts in Palm Desert, Hemet, San Diego, El Cajon and La Mesa: “We’re going to have as good of growth as we had last year and double digit growth at some of our facilities,” said Greg Sidoroff, operations manager for the La Jolla-based RV resort chain.

The Springs at Borrego RV Resort and Golf Course in Borrego Springs: Spaces at this 90-site RV resort are sold out for the January to March period with a waiting list of roughly 100 people, said Daniel Wright, the park’s general manager.